Waupaca Granite Co.’s quarry started in 1886 on a tongue of igneous situated about 5 miles north of Waupaca in rough glacial country. It is part of the massive intrusive Wolf River Batholith, which is dated at about1450-1500Ma. Waupaca area granite has a weathered surface of grayish white and a fresh surface of medium grained pink color. The difference of color is due to the feldspar, which in the red variety, has a much deeper red color than in the gray. The most common color is the combination of black and pink, known as gray, while the other combination is green and pink, known as red. The granite consists mainly of quartz, hornblende, biotite, chlorite, epidote, and small feldspar crystals, but sometimes it contains large porphyritic crystals of feldspar, approximately an inch by a half inch each, which can detract from the value of the stock for monumental work.
The Waupaca granite could be used for building purposes, block paving, monumental use or ornamental work. Because it was so easily crushed, it had a low market value and was best suited for inside ornamental work, although monuments and mausoleums are not uncommon. There is one monument made of the Waupaca Granite in Chickamunga, Tennessee, honoring the Wisconsin civil war soldiers, in Orchard Knob National Park. If you examine this monument, you will see that the four sides are distinctly different. Each side is different by texture, proportions, and arrangement of the crystalline structures. It had been used very extensively in Chicago, such as the Gus Wilkie Residence, the Wm. Balcome monument, and in Forest Hill Cemetery. It is also found on the gateway to Lake View Cemetery, Minneapolis. There is probably no more beautiful or brilliant stone quarried anywhere in the country, for inside ornamental work, wainscoting columns, or balustrades, than that which was taken from the Waupaca Granite
Waupaca Granite Co.’s quarry started in 1886 on a tongue of igneous situated about 5 miles north of Waupaca in rough glacial country. It is part of the massive intrusive Wolf River Batholith, which is dated at about1450-1500Ma. Waupaca area granite has a weathered surface of grayish white and a fresh surface of medium grained pink color. The difference of color is due to the feldspar, which in the red variety, has a much deeper red color than in the gray. The most common color is the combination of black and pink, known as gray, while the other combination is green and pink, known as red. The granite consists mainly of quartz, hornblende, biotite, chlorite, epidote, and small feldspar crystals, but sometimes it contains large porphyritic crystals of feldspar, approximately an inch by a half inch each, which can detract from the value of the stock for monumental work.